This year has honestly gone by at a record pace! Can you believe that it’s just a month until Christmas!
In its truest form, Christmas is Jesus. It’s remembering that He came to earth to be born as a baby for you and I. His birth gave us Hope!
We have themed this Christmas at His Church around Jesus our Hope. Hope for our lives and hope for our city. Picture 2 mountains and a bridge between them. The side that you are standing on is the place of faith in God's promises. On the other side is the manifestation of the promise. But in between is a bridge. That bridge is the HOPE you and I need, because when we have no hope, we doubt what God has promised. When we have no hope, delays cause us to stop and give up.
Simon and I were at a conference recently, and when people heard that we were from Durban they felt sorry for us! The comments were "Shew, it’s rough in Durban and Durban has been through a lot in the last two years"…. Someone even mentioned the phrase ‘dirtbin’ in place of Durban, While those are all true comments and I will never deny the reality of some of the things we have had to endure as Durbanites, I love our city and HAVE to believe that Jesus is the hope for it!
The blessing of favour resting upon the righteous influences a city to lift it higher.
-- Proverbs 11:11 (TPT)
Hope will never come from the government. It will come from righteous men and women, men and women like you and I. But if we who have the spirit of God inside of us struggle to keep our Hope alive, what about those who don’t know the one whom our hope is in.
Christmas is also about family. It's a time to remember what is important and is a time for us to come together and celebrate.
There are many different feelings and memories conjured up for people when you think about Christmas. For some, it’s definitely the most wonderful time of the year, but at the other extreme, for others, it can be the absolute worst time of year.
We are aware that there are those in our church who don’t have family, and that this season may be a time of extreme loneliness for you. We want you to know that we are here for you, we are a family, and in Psalm 68 God says that He sets the lonely in families
“To the fatherless he is a father. To the widow he is a champion friend. The lonely he makes part of a family. The prisoners he leads into prosperity until they sing for joy. This is our Holy God in his Holy Place!
-- Psalms 68:5-6 TPT
Finally, if we lack hope, then giving hope to others prepares the way for a returned measure of hope to us. This Christmas through Hope Nation there are so many ways to give Hope to others, and not just financially, but even with your time. Come and join us at one of our outreaches this Christmas and be a bringer of Hope to someone who may need hope more than you!
Our prayer for you this Christmas is that you would truly know the one who is the source of our Hope, and that amid presents and during the chaos, there would be peace and Hope because of Jesus!
There are so many things going on at His Church this Christmas, from Family Dinners to Carol Services, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services. Come and be a part of these, come and have your hope stirred.